Josh Hunt's Blog, page 273

There is always something to be grateful for

Gratitude has a lot to do with seeing the cup half full. It was true for Jonah. As bad as things were—and they were pretty bad—there were still some things to be grateful for. For one thing, Jonah was still alive. This had to look questionable a few minutes before. There is nothing like a […]

Gratitude is better than winning the lottery

We want to talk about how we can be people who give thanks in all things, but before we do, let’s explore some of the benefits of gratitude. Nothing predicts happiness like gratitude. No single activity more reliably predicts your happiness as the practice of gratitude. Notice I said the practice of gratitude, not the […]

Learning gratitude from Jonah

If ever there were a light and fluffy teaching in Scripture, surely it is the teaching on gratitude. I heard someone at church say the other day that they didn’t think we should have a Thanksgiving Day because she thought it ought to be Thanksgiving Day all year long. How sweet. When we think soberly […]

Why they stayed, part 3

It has been widely reported that many young people are leaving the church. What is less often reported is that many stay. Steve Parr and Tom Crites have teamed up to produce and excellent new book on why those who stay, stay. Here are a few excerpts: Those who were never baptized were almost 400% […]

Conversational Evangelism

I now understand better what is holding back many people from coming to Christ, i.e., the barriers they encounter in understanding and then in embracing the Christian faith. As I become more equipped and emboldened to add the spiritual dimension in my conversation with friends and colleagues, I discover that people are willing to engage […]

The benefits of neighboring

Jesus said the most important thing we can do is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We are discovering that Jesus was actually really smart. You could even say that he was and is a genius. When Jesus was asked to reduce everything […]

Immigration and the Bible

How do we apply biblical law to current issues? How do we apply the ancient Hebrew prophets’ call for justice in Israel to contemporary western societies? These questions must be thoughtfully considered because the hermeneutical issues are thorny. Four common approaches will be considered here. One way of applying biblical law to modern issues and […]

First Steps Toward Neighboring

If you are anything like us, your head is spinning right about now. It’s likely that your schedule is already packed and that the idea of becoming a good neighbor might sound impractical or even scary at first. But we invite you to lean into those issues. If you do, we are confident that you […]

Why they stayed, part 2

It has been widely reported that many young people are leaving the church. What is less often reported is that many stay. Steve Parr and Tom Crites have teamed up to produce and excellent new book on why those who stay, stay. Here are a few excerpts: Young adults are not interested in just seeing […]

You are a minister

You and I were created by God to be ministers to others. Apart from this, we lack a sense of fulfillment. A small-group leader is simply a believer in Jesus Christ who makes the decision to become a minister to a small group of believers and nonbelievers. Years ago, my journalist friend Ibrahim, from Nairobi, […]